I've been to the Philippines 3 times, and I'm going again soon. My experience in travelling in general is that Western news tends to sensationalize everything - "citizens are reeling in shock", when really life pretty much continues as usual except that the tourists have been scared away by CNN and the economy of the country in question suffers.
This is not to say that you don't need to be careful or that you should ignore travel advisories, but often taking a few pre-cautions and doing some research is really all that's necessary. In regards to the Philippines, the areas where there have been kidnappings in the past and continued terrorist activity is in the southern regions, called Mindoros I believe. It's not somewhere you would end up accidentally. This is far from Manila, and even farther from Boracay, which is the main tourist destination in the Philippines. Personally I would be much more concerned with personal safety while in Manila in regards to being robbed or pickpocketed. The Philippines is quite poor and unfortunately corrupt, and the big "tourist" sign on your forehead can make you a target. I had my cell phone and some cash lifted from my purse while shopping in an elegant high-end shopping mall, and I had no idea. My Filippino friend told me it was probably done by a child or woman, as they tend to "work" the malls where they are less conspicuous than men. Taxi drivers will over charge you as well (compared to what they will charge a local), but it still isn't a lot for you and it's probably best not to argue.
So in short, be careful about hanging out in Manila, don't wander around on your own, and you might want to avoid public transportation (you can take a taxi or even hire a car with a driver). If you're heading to Boracay I believe it's quite safe and I've never heard of any bombing etc there. Sorry this has gone on so long, just let me know if you have any more questions.  |